By Ianam-ul-Haq

Srinagar – In a dramatic political upset that has put seven MLAs under a cloud of suspicion, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday clinched the fourth Rajya Sabha seat from Jammu & Kashmir—despite falling short of the numbers on paper—after four legislators cross-voted and three ballot papers were “deliberately” invalidated.

The first Upper House election held in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 saw the National Conference (NC) win three seats comfortably, but it was the BJP’s surprise victory that stole the spotlight and set off an explosive blame game in the Union Territory.

BJP’s J&K chief Sat Pal Sharma secured 32 votes, four more than the party’s strength of 28 in the 90-member House. NC’s Imran Nabi Dar—who entered the contest as a favourite

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